The active mind and its take on the goings on of the day.

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BRIGHTNESS IN SHORT BURSTS

By three forty five this afternoon it was pitch black. I was glad of the little town’s seasonal decorative lights twinkling and spitting out their sparkles. Nevertheless, it was hard not to feel the deep gloom of a dark Winter, the very short days and the long dark nights.

When the Arctic snows came, (I hear we’re due to have more very soon, not that I wish it) the sky gleamed with sunshine on many clear frosted days. The sharp glittering whiteness of the snowy reflections also added additional light to our very few hours of day. There are very many dis-benefits to the snowy weather patterns we experienced. Exceptionally, because of our Northern latitude with its low-light short days, we benefit from increased levels of brightness because of the snow. The raised light levels improve moods, people who have seasonal affective disorders can be great beneficiaries while the snow brightness lasts.

The little bit of repartee this afternoon with another customer in the bakery, had more than a grain of truth in it. We were of one mind, that if it wasn’t time for a good cup of coffee, we’d resort to a nip of Whisky to liven us up a bit.

We live in a small village in the Pennines 11 miles north of Sheffield but there is a small town adjacent with half a dozen takeaways, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Fish ‘n chips and then thete are the shops. If you run out of a basic on Christmas day, ie “Oh, bugger, there’s not enough milk for the Yorkshires…”, “Neer mind duck, I’ll nip up to Khan’s and get some”. It’s half a mile uphill but it’s there and it’s open on Xmas day.